Mailbag catcher



c. H. NELSON 2,643,101

June 23, 1953 MAILBAG CATCHER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed 001;. 23, 1950 Inventor Charles H. Nelson WW fim June 23, 1953 Filed OCT 23, 1950 c. H, NELSON MAILBAG CATCHER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I3: Inventor Qhar/es H. Nelson Patented June 23, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

4 Claims.

The present invention relates to new and useful improvements in mail bag catchers designed for use in picking up mail bags by a railway car.

An important object of the invention is to provide an improved trip actuated bag retaining latch mechanism for holding the bag after entering the catching hook and until removed by the mail clerk.

Another object is to provide a pair of spring actuated latch members positioned for holding the bag at opposite sides of the catching hook to effectively hold the bag therein.

A further object is to provide tension adjusting means for the latch members.

A still further object is to provide a mail bag catcher which may be easily and quickly mounted as a unit for swinging movement on a supporting bar on a mail car door to swing the mail bag into the car after being caught.

An additional object is to provide a. device of this character of simple and practical construction, which is strong and durable, eflicient and reliable in operation, relatively inexpensive to manufacture and otherwise well adapted for the purposes for which the same is intended.

Other objects and advantages reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure 1 is a top plan view showing the latch mechanism set;

Figure 2 is a similar view showing the latch mechanism released and holding a bag;

Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectional view taken on a line 3-3 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a transverse sectional view taken on a line 4--4 of Figure 2 and;

Figure 5 is a transverse sectional view taken on a line 5-5 of Figure 1.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, wherein for the purpose of illustration I have disclosed a preferred embodiment of my invention, the numeral 5 designates a sleeve rotatably supported on the usual bar 6 mounted at the outside of a railway car door I by brackets 8. A mail bag catching arm ll is positioned in outwardly diverging relation with respect to bar 6 and is formed at its inner end with a hook I0 fixed in a socket I I united with sleeve 5 by a web I2.

A U-shaped trip I3 is pivoted at its leg portions I4 at opposite sides of hook ID on a pivot I5 passing through web I2 and with the bight portion l6 of the trip positioned in hook Ill. A pair of 2 trip arms I! are slidable in guides I8 attached to sleeve 5, the arms being attached at their rear ends to the ends of legs I4 and are formed with hooks I9 at their front ends positioned at opposite sides of bar 5.

A pair of spring steel latch members 20 are formed with spring coils 2| adjacent their rear ends which are pivoted on pins or the like 22 at opposite sides of sleeve 5 and the rear ends 23 of the latch members are attached to the front end of sleeve 5 by turnbuckles 24. The front ends of latch members 20 are formed with frames 25, each provided with a front cross bar 26 engaged by hooks IQ of trip arms I! and the latch members 20 are rigidly connected to each other by a rear cross bar 21. A wire handle 28 is attached to the back of the latch members at the front ends thereof.

Trip I3 is held in a forward position in hook II] by a fiat spring 29 attached to a handle socket 30 projecting laterally from sleeve 5 and in which a handle 3| is secured.

In the operation of the device, sleeve 5 is mounted on bar 6 and with arm 9 projecting outwardly at the side of a railway car. Catches 20 are held by hooks I9, as shown in Figure 1, and spring 29 holds trip l3 in a forward position in hook II] at the rear of arm 9.

The mail bag 32 enters hook I0 and strikes trip I3 to swing the latter rearwardly and thereby pushing trip arms I! forwardly to release catches 20 which then spring rearwardly and clamps the mail bag in the hook I0, as shown in Figure 2. The sleeve 5 may then be rotated on bar 6 by handle ill to bring the mail bag on the inside of the car for removal from the hook I0.

In view of the foregoing description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings it is believed that a clear understanding of the device will be quite apparent to those skilled in this art. A more detailed description is accordingly deemed unnecessary.

It is to be understood, however, that even though there is herein shown and described a preferred embodiment of the invention the same is susceptible to certain changes fully comprehended by the spirit of the invention as herein described and the scope of the appended claims.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. A mail bag catcher comprising a sleeve adapted for rotatably mounting on a supporting bar of a railway car door, a mail bag receiving hook carried by the sleeve, a pair of spring actuated latch members swingably supported on the sleeve at opposite sides of the latter for holding a mail bag in the hook, and trip means holding the latch members in set position forwardly of the hook and actuated by a mail bag entering the hook to release the latch members, said trip means including an impact member pivoted to the sleeve and having a portion thereof positioned in the hook in the path of a bag entering the hook, and a pair of trip arms slidably supported by the sleeve and each having one of their ends connected to the impact member and having hooks at their other ends engaging the latch members.

2. A mail bag catcher comprising a sleeve adapted for rotatabl mounting on a supporting bar of a railway car door, a mail bag receiving hook carried by the sleeve, a pair of spring actuated latch members swingably supported on the sleeve at opposite sides of the latter for holding a mail bag in the hook, trip means holding the latch members in set position forwardly of the hook and actuated by impact of a mail bag entering the hook to release the latch members, and a handle supported by the sleeve in a laterally projecting position to turn the sleeve on its supporting bar to move the mail bag inside the car door, said trip means including a U' shaped member pivoted to the sleeve and extending across the hook, guides secured to the sleeve and a pair of trip arms slidably received in the guides and pivoted at one of their ends to the U-shaped member, the other ends of said arms terminating in hooks releasably engaging the latch members.

3. A mail bag catcher comprising a sleeve adapted for rotatably mounting on a supporting bar of a railway car door, a mail bag receiving hook carried by the sleeve, a pair of spring actuated latch members swingably supported on the sleeve at opposite sides of the latter for holding a mail bag in the hook, each of said latch members being composed of a spring steel arm having a spring coil adjacent its rear end pivoted on the sleeve, the front end of the arm being free for clamping engagement with the mail bag, and adjustable means connecting the rear ends of the spring arm to the sleeve to adjust the tension of the coil.

4. A mail bag catcher comprising a sleeve adapted for rotatably mounting on a supporting bar of a railway car door, a mail bag receiving hook carried by the sleeve, a pair of spring actuated latch members swingably supported on the sleeve at opposite sides of the latter for holding a mail bag in the hook, each of said latch members being composed of a spring steel arm having a spring coil adjacent its rear end pivoted on the sleeve, a frame at the front end of the spring arm for engaging the mail bag, a handle on the frame to pull the spring arm forwardly to release the bag, and adjustable means connecting the rear end of the spring arm to the sleeve to adjust the tension of the coil.

CHARLES H. NELSON.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,000,653 Wieser Aug. 15, 1911 1,062,461 Hansen May 20, 1913 1,559,808 Thompson Nov. 3, 1925 

